The relevance of prophecy to Christians in these days rests on their view of the
rapture. Whether consciously or not, a person who believes they will rapture
before the Tribulation, will probably not be that concerned with prophecy or
events that are going to take place during the Tribulation. I don’t mean to
paint with a broad brush and say that ALL Christians will feel this way, but
certainly most will. The fact that a fourth to a half of the Bible deals with
end times prophecy doesn’t seem to mean much in churches today where it is
highly unlikely you will hear a message on the subject. Action follows belief
and vice versa. If you strongly believe you will be gone, you are not likely to
be concerned or do anything about it.

The teaching of the pre-tribulation rapture has the Lord coming for
the church in a “secret” rapture prior to the tribulation and then coming
with the saints at the end of the tribulation where they meet up
with new saints that have been saved and martyred. The arguments for this
position are not based on the clear teaching of the Word but supposition or what
the scripture calls “private interpretation”. I’m not going to go into great
detail. There are many excellent works on the subject by authors such as Dave
MacPherson, Marvin Rosenthal, Robert Van
Kampen and others that deal with all of the
arguments pro and con for those who want to study the issue in detail.

We
need to see the clear teaching of the Bible on this issue. There is no
justification for two raptures. The plain reading of the Bible can only bring
one to a single conclusion. There is the final trumpet, the Lord returns in the
clouds and the church meets Him in the air. The main argument for the pre-trib
position is that the church is “not appointed to wrath.” (I
Thess. 5:9) They are absolutely correct. The
problem is that they don’t understand the timing of events in Revelation. They
also don’t understand that the church is always the object of wrath of the world
and the “enemy” – although, we agree, never the recipient of God’s wrath.

Their failure to understand this distinction has led them into systematized
error. If you look on Google or go to your local “Christian Bookstore”, you
will see hundreds of books on the pre-trib rapture.
What began as a little seed has grown to a huge tree with hundreds of oblique
explanations for this false doctrine. The fact that proponents say there are
people saved called “tribulation saints” after the church is
raptured begs the question, why is God allowing them
to suffer? What is different between them and me other than timing?

Why is this important? If the typical evangelical Christian does not think he
will be here during the Tribulation, he will be deceived, fail to prepare and
may become a part of the problem, temporarily aligned with the antichrist,
thinking he is doing God a favor. But even more important is that he fails to
grasp before hand the real purpose for the church in the tribulation. And no
one today understands the importance of the “two witnesses.” The tribulation is
an important piece of God’s plan and purpose. If he is going to judge the
world, he can only do so with the testimony of two witnesses.

The Timing of Events from the Gospels

A straight forward reading of the three gospels shows us in clear detail the
chronology of events:

Matthew 24:3-31

Mark 13:3-27

Luke 23:8-28

3Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him
privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things
be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

3Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter,
James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4"Tell us, when will
these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be
fulfilled?"

4And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one
deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the
Christ,' and will deceive many.

5And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one
deceives you. 6For many will come in My name, saying, "I am He,'
and will deceive many.

8And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will
come in My name, saying, "I am He,' and, "The time has drawn near.'
Therefore[a]
do not go after them.

6And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are
not troubled; for all[a]
these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be
troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

9But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified;
for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come
immediately."

7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,[b]
and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning
of sorrows.

8For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be
famines and troubles.[a]
These are the beginnings of sorrows.

10Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. 11And there will be great earthquakes in
various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful
sights and great signs from heaven.

9"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and
you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10And then
many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12And
because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13But
he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14And this gospel of
the kingdom will be preached in all the world as
a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

9"But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to
councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought[b]
before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10And
the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11But when
they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate[c]
what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for
it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12Now brother will
betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up
against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13And you will
be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be
saved.

12But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you
and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will
be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. 13But it
will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14Therefore
settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your
adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

The Great Tribulation

(B)15"Therefore when you see the "abomination of desolation,'[c]
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads,
let him understand), 16"then let those who are in Judea flee to
the mountains. 17Let him who is on the housetop not
go down to take anything out of his house.
18And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing
babies in those days! 20And pray that your flight may not be in
winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until
this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will
be shortened.

The Great Tribulation

(B)14"So when you see the "abomination of desolation,'[d]
spoken of by Daniel the prophet,[e]
standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those
who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15Let him who is on the
housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to
take anything out of his house. 16And let him who is in the field
not go back to get his clothes. 17But woe to those who are
pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18And
pray that your flight may not be in winter. 19For in those days
there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the
creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 20And
unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for
the elect's sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

(A)20"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know
that its desolation is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let
not those who are in the country enter her. 22For these are the
days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing
babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath
upon this people. 24And they will fall by the edge of the sword,
and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by
Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Coming of the Son of Man

(C)29"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will
be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30Then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the
earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. 31And He will send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Coming of the Son of Man

(C)24"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25the stars of
heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26Then
they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and
glory. 27And then He will send His angels, and gather together
His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the
farthest part of heaven.

The Coming of the Son of Man(B)25"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the
stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and
the waves roaring; 26men's hearts failing them from fear and the
expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of
the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28Now when these
things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption draws near."

All three accounts are similar beginning with false Christs
and deception, followed by war, pestilence and earthquakes. Then we have the
beginning of sorrows where brother is turning against brother and delivering up
one another to the religious leaders. When it says, “You will be broughtbefore rulers and kings for My sake, for a
testimony to them,” aren’t these Christians? Aren’t we the testimony?
Aren’t we the ones that “will be hated by all for My
name's sake.” Unless you twist the Scriptures beyond recognition, this can
only refer to Christians persecuting Christians! The next group of verses
refers to the period know as the Great Tribulation, the last three and a half
year period the beginning marked by the Abomination of Desolations. Again,
during this period we see that “elect” are present – and even the “elect can
be deceived.” Again, this clearly refers to Christians.

The only Christians looking for a pre-tribulation rapture are “Western
Laodicean” lukewarm Christians. “Judgment begins
at the household of God”. (I Peter 4:17) Only the fires of hell (not of
heaven) will separate the wheat from the chaff. God’s righteousness demands
that the church be purified into a glorious “witness” (again the same root word
for “martyr”) before He passes judgment on Satan and the world.

The final passage above describes the coming of the Son of Man and the rapture
simultaneously as we see in Revelation 11 with the same heavenly signs. “Then
they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect
from the four winds.” (Mark 13:26-27)

There is one major difference in the Revelation 11 account. Instead of the
elect or the saints, He is coming for the “two witnesses”!

“And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3And
I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one
thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

4These are the two olive trees and the two
lampstands standing before the God[b]
of the earth. 5And if anyone wants to harm them,
fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies.And
if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6These
have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy;
and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth
with all plagues, as often as they desire.

7When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of
the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our[c]
Lord was crucified. 9Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues,
and nations will see their dead bodies
three-and-a-half days, and not allow[d]
their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10And those who dwell on the
earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because
these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

11Now after the three-and-a-half days the
breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great
fear fell on those who saw them.12And they[e]
heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they
ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.

Please notice there is the same timing. We see throughout prophetic
scriptures, the last seven year period is referred to as a week, seven days,
seven years, two periods of 1260 days, two periods of 42 months, etc. We see
two witnesses giving their testimony with tremendous power. The beast ascends
out of the bottomless pit (the abomination of desolations) and makes war against
these two witnesses. At the end of the second three and a half year period, we
see another picture of the rapture.

The Two Witnesses

Now, the question is who are these “two
witnesses” referred to as the two olive trees and the two lamp stands. But
before we answer that question, why two witnesses? What is so important about
that? What is the whole book of Revelation about? The trial and judgment of
the earth, right? Under Old Testament law, no one could be convicted of a crime
unless there was the testimony of “two witnesses.” So God has two witnesses.
Who are they? Some say Moses and Elijah. But in verse seven above, it says
that the beast comes out of the pit and makes war against them. The word
“makes war” means “a military campaign”. It is hardly necessary to mount a
military campaign against to long dead people! There must be something more to
it than that.

Why does the passage call them “two olive trees” and “two lamp stands”?
There is a perfect parallel between Revelation 11 and Zechariah 4. In typology,
Israel is referred to as the “olive tree” (Romans 11:17, Jeremiah 11:16, etc.)
and the church is clearly referred to as the lamp stands (Revelation 2 & 3 – the
letters to the seven churches/lamp stands. Few see the importance of this
point. The testimony (witness) is found in two corporate peoples – the Jews and
the Christians. He has made eternal covenants with both. Each body of people
is a testimony of the faithfulness and mercy of God – one of the earth and the
other of the heavens. One represents his earthly promise and kingdom and the
other his heavenly promise and kingdom. In any court of law, you need
witnesses. God’s two witnesses are his two peoples.

The fact that the beast makes war against them speaks to their importance. If
God is going to try as if in a court of law Satan and those who have chosen
allegiance with him, he must have two witnesses before he can convict and pass
judgment. Meanwhile, just as Satan accused God before the throne and God had
one on the earth named Job – Satan challenged God and said he would curse him if
he took his family, wealth and health but God said “Go for it!” And Job was
tried, having lost everything and came through the test. Satan and his forces
will also test the two witnesses to see if they are real and the more he turns
up the heat, the more prevailing their testimony will be. This is the kind of
tribulation the Saints have suffered through the years and been willing to pay
the ultimate price.

So as we come back to the issue of tribulation and wrath, we see that in all of
history, there has been a difference between the two. In the world we will
have tribulation. We will be persecuted for His name’s sake. The church
has never been spared the wrath of Satan or the world, so it will certainly be
no different in the end when Satan knows his time is short.

There is a gigantic failure of the church to see the importance of having both
corporate witnesses. The heresy of the pre-tribulation rapture removes the
church so they assume that the church dispensation is over and God turns his
attention back to the Jews (except for the knotty problem of more saints coming
to the Lord during the tribulation). So where is His heavenly testimony? Does
it go to those who get last minute salvation but have little time or no
opportunity to get to know their Savior? Does it go to Jews alone left holding
the bag, so to speak, and the remnant who get saved?

At the other extreme is that part of the church which write off the Jews as
having lost their birth right, just as the church has done historically (the
Roman Catholic and state churches of Europe), the new breed of
dominionists who believe the church has to usher in
the kingdom or the preterists who believe all
prophecy has been fulfilled and we have been in the tribulation for the past
2,000 years. All of these positions, including the dispensationalists (pre-tribbers)
negate the need for two witnesses.

One final caveat before leaving this subject is that the dispensationalists tend
to be so pro-Israel that they will support political Israel and the antichrist
as they make a covenant. The deception swings both ways. Neither side will see
it. The only protection from this delusion is to see that God needs both
witnesses to stand and testify. How this works when it comes to the Jews is
something I don’t comprehend, but I know it can be done.

Revelation 5:4-5, 11 shows the two aspects of our Savior:

"Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of
David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose[b]
its seven seals."

6And I looked, and behold,[c]
in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of
the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain… worthy is the Lamb
who was slain

He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb –
to the two witnesses, Israel and the church. Revelation 7 describes the first
group of 144,000 – “of all of the tribes of Israel were sealed” (Rev 7:4)
It then enumerates the 12 tribes and you see the other witness, the church –
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one
could number, of all tribes peoples, and tongues standing before the throne and
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
and crying out with a loud voice saying, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits
on the throne and to the Lamb!” (verse 9).

As we go on to verse 14, it says “These are the ones who come out of the
great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.”

A straight forward reading of these verses is that there are two groups. We
come to the second group of 144,000 (which is a number of completion), we read,

“1 Then I looked, and behold, a[a]
Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand,
having[b]
His Father's name written on their foreheads. 2And I heard a voice
from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder.
And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. 3They sang as
it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the
elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four
thousand who were redeemed from the earth. 4These are the ones who
were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who
follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed[c]
from among men, being first fruits to God and to the
Lamb. 5And in their mouth was found no deceit,[d]
for they are without fault before the throne of God.” (Revelation 14:1-5)

So here we have the two witnesses – the 144,000 from Israel and the 144,000 from
the Church. Both are essential to God’s eternal plan and purpose. If you have
just one, there is only half a witness.

If you look at the chronology in Revelation you see that both are present and
are giving their testimony during the tribulation.

7When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of
the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our[c]
Lord was crucified. 9Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues,
and nations will see their dead bodies
three-and-a-half days, and not allow[d]
their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10And those who dwell on the
earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because
these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

11Now after the three-and-a-half
days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and
great fear fell on those who saw them.12And they[e]
heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended
to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13In the same hour
there was a great earth quake, and a tenth of the
city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest
were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:7-13)

We clearly see them finishing their testimony. By the way the root for the word
“testimony” is “marturia” in Greek or
“martyr”. At the end of the Great Tribulation, you see the rapture and
the cosmic events hailing the Second Coming of Jesus.

And just in case you aren’t convinced that “Saints” are involved (and if
“saints” aren’t Christians, I don’t know what they are), it says “It was
granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority
was given him over every tribe, tongue and nation.” (Revelation 13:7) But
fear not, for “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Revelation
11:12) The witnesses overcome by their testimony – their willingness to
give up everything, including their own lives!

I will cover more timelines in the next chapter, but let me repeat. There are
two things going on here – one is the Tribulation of the saints at the hands of
the enemy. The other is the wrath of God poured out on the world. THESE ARE
TWO SEPARATE ISSUES! At the risk of being redundant – these are two
separate issues!!!!!!! There is a difference between persecution and
tribulation and wrath and judgment! They are not the same thing.
Christians inability or unwillingness to understand
this point has led them into grave error by incorrectly believing that if
Christians are in the tribulation, they are suffering the wrath of God. As we
shall see in the next chapter the church is gone at the final and seventh
trumpet out of which comes the bowls of wrath.

In fact, there are numerous verses that would argue otherwise. One is a verse
used by pre-tribbers. Revelation 3:10 says, “Because
you have kept My command to persevere, I also will
keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test
those who dell on the earth.” In other verses such as Revelation 9:4, we
note that the plague can’t harm God’s people, but “only those who do not have
the seal of God on their foreheads.” God has the ability to protect His
people or He brings them home. “Here is the
patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the
faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write:
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit,
‘that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them.” (Revelation
13:12-13.

Then we come to Revelation 14:14-20 with another picture of the rapture and the
return of the Lord, followed by the grapes of wrath. We see the simultaneous
reaping of the two witnesses from the earth and the beginning of the judgment.

14Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat
One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a
sharp sickle. 15And another angel came out of the temple, crying with
a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for
the time has come for You[i]
to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16So He who sat on
the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the
earth was reaped.

17Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven,
he also having a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from
the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had
the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters
of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." 19So the
angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and
threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the
winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up
to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. (Revelation
14:14-20)

We then see the wrath of God poured out in Revelation 15 followed by the bowls
of wrath in Chapter 16 which culminates in the final three part judgment of
religious, commercial and political Babylon in Chapters 17, 18 and 19. For
those who hold the fallacious idea that Revelation 18:4 is a severe judgment by
God on the Christians in Babylon, we would point out that from all of the above
Scriptures, the church is long gone by then. In fact, the call to “come up and
out of her” is just another picture of God preserving His Church from His
wrath. In the next section, we will discuss the timing of the seven seals, the
seven trumpets and the seven bowls of wrath.